The 1930s and 40s saw an intellectual high point in Mormon history with B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, and John Widtsoe. Brigham Young University flourished, but intellectual freedom and academic ...
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The 1930s and 40s saw an intellectual high point in Mormon history with B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, and John Widtsoe. Brigham Young University flourished, but intellectual freedom and academic freedom have conflicted with evolution, “faithful history”, and building the kingdom, resulting in dissent and excommunications. Today, a thriving print culture perpetuates both sides of the tradition.Less

“Fomenting the Pot” : The Life of the Mind

Terryl C. Givens

Published in print: 2007-11-01

The 1930s and 40s saw an intellectual high point in Mormon history with B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, and John Widtsoe. Brigham Young University flourished, but intellectual freedom and academic freedom have conflicted with evolution, “faithful history”, and building the kingdom, resulting in dissent and excommunications. Today, a thriving print culture perpetuates both sides of the tradition.

Taking its point of departure from the suppression of research findings by a Canadian drug company with a vested interest in keeping them from the public eye, this chapter reads the ambiguous ...
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Taking its point of departure from the suppression of research findings by a Canadian drug company with a vested interest in keeping them from the public eye, this chapter reads the ambiguous gendered implications of the positioning of Dr. Nancy Olivieri, a scientist and physician, as the principal player in the story. Issues of credibility, answerability, academic freedom, and the role of trust in knowledge figure centrally in the analysis. It shows how ecological thinking allows for the development of a productive reading of responsibility, rooted neither in individualism nor in an implausible voluntarism; and attentive to the climatic conditions in which much scientific research in the 21st century takes place. It extends the discussion of collective responsibility that begins in chapter six to raise questions about ecologically sound research practices, justice, and citizenship.Less

Lorraine Code

Published in print: 2006-04-06

Taking its point of departure from the suppression of research findings by a Canadian drug company with a vested interest in keeping them from the public eye, this chapter reads the ambiguous gendered implications of the positioning of Dr. Nancy Olivieri, a scientist and physician, as the principal player in the story. Issues of credibility, answerability, academic freedom, and the role of trust in knowledge figure centrally in the analysis. It shows how ecological thinking allows for the development of a productive reading of responsibility, rooted neither in individualism nor in an implausible voluntarism; and attentive to the climatic conditions in which much scientific research in the 21st century takes place. It extends the discussion of collective responsibility that begins in chapter six to raise questions about ecologically sound research practices, justice, and citizenship.

Nord argues that the study of religion is necessary if students are to understand either the religious or the secular dimensions of the world in which they live and concludes that taking religion ...
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Nord argues that the study of religion is necessary if students are to understand either the religious or the secular dimensions of the world in which they live and concludes that taking religion seriously will require a significant curricular commitment on the part of public colleges and universities. Furthermore, teaching in the area of religious studies should focus on living religious traditions and should not treat religion in a merely historical or reductionistic fashion. Nord makes his case based on the ideals of liberal learning and academic freedom, on Supreme Court decisions, and on moral and civic concerns.Less

Taking Religion Seriously in Public Universities

Warren A. Nord

Published in print: 2008-03-06

Nord argues that the study of religion is necessary if students are to understand either the religious or the secular dimensions of the world in which they live and concludes that taking religion seriously will require a significant curricular commitment on the part of public colleges and universities. Furthermore, teaching in the area of religious studies should focus on living religious traditions and should not treat religion in a merely historical or reductionistic fashion. Nord makes his case based on the ideals of liberal learning and academic freedom, on Supreme Court decisions, and on moral and civic concerns.

The founding of the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) in May 1933 was a rapid and constructive response to the Nazi threat to science and learning. Among the far-sighted academics involved was the ...
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The founding of the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) in May 1933 was a rapid and constructive response to the Nazi threat to science and learning. Among the far-sighted academics involved was the physiologist A. V. Hill (1886–1977). He was to be a consistent, effective, and loyal supporter of the AAC and, as it became in 1936, the Society for Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL). Hill was remarkable in terms of his scientific achievements and his support of scientific organizations, most notably the Royal Society. Accompanying these activities was a set of social values concerning the scientist as citizen in a parliamentary democracy, and an agenda for science to modernize health care provision. Hill's commitment to the cause of academic refugees can be understood within a broader set of commitments and activities. Apart from many acts of practical assistance, Hill contributed to a broadening of the agenda of the SPSL, making academic freedom a core value. This chapter examines Hill's broader political vision of the defence of learning.Less

From Refugee Assistance to Freedom of Learning: the Strategic Vision of A. V. Hill, 1933–1964

Paul Weindling

Published in print: 2011-07-14

The founding of the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) in May 1933 was a rapid and constructive response to the Nazi threat to science and learning. Among the far-sighted academics involved was the physiologist A. V. Hill (1886–1977). He was to be a consistent, effective, and loyal supporter of the AAC and, as it became in 1936, the Society for Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL). Hill was remarkable in terms of his scientific achievements and his support of scientific organizations, most notably the Royal Society. Accompanying these activities was a set of social values concerning the scientist as citizen in a parliamentary democracy, and an agenda for science to modernize health care provision. Hill's commitment to the cause of academic refugees can be understood within a broader set of commitments and activities. Apart from many acts of practical assistance, Hill contributed to a broadening of the agenda of the SPSL, making academic freedom a core value. This chapter examines Hill's broader political vision of the defence of learning.

This chapter has two main tasks. The first is to acknowledge a complication. It says something about academic freedom and resolves a potential tension between the positions taken in Chapters 5 and 6 ...
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This chapter has two main tasks. The first is to acknowledge a complication. It says something about academic freedom and resolves a potential tension between the positions taken in Chapters 5 and 6 on the one hand, and Chapter 7 on the other. The question is whether teachers have the right to take sides in matters of religion. The First Amendment would seem to forbid this, yet the logic of liberal education might seem to require it (at least sometimes), and academic freedom would seem to protect it (at least sometimes). Second, the chapter addresses some of the most common concerns loosely clumped together under a number of headings: the concerns of religious conservatives, the concerns of religious liberals, the concerns of atheists, and, finally, practical concerns (often coming from teachers and administrators).Less

Complications, Concerns, and Clarifications

Warren A. Nord

Published in print: 2010-11-10

This chapter has two main tasks. The first is to acknowledge a complication. It says something about academic freedom and resolves a potential tension between the positions taken in Chapters 5 and 6 on the one hand, and Chapter 7 on the other. The question is whether teachers have the right to take sides in matters of religion. The First Amendment would seem to forbid this, yet the logic of liberal education might seem to require it (at least sometimes), and academic freedom would seem to protect it (at least sometimes). Second, the chapter addresses some of the most common concerns loosely clumped together under a number of headings: the concerns of religious conservatives, the concerns of religious liberals, the concerns of atheists, and, finally, practical concerns (often coming from teachers and administrators).

After writing the Mayflower Declaration in 1968, Charles Curran set about a scholarly agenda of showing how and why the pope’s condemnation was, from a theological point of view, problematic. This ...
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After writing the Mayflower Declaration in 1968, Charles Curran set about a scholarly agenda of showing how and why the pope’s condemnation was, from a theological point of view, problematic. This agenda led directly to Curran’s dismissal from the faculty of the Catholic University of America, an action that closed down the university and was front-page news across the United States, being itself widely perceived as the first distinctively Catholic debate over academic freedom in a Catholic institution. The protests that followed this dismissal (“the Curran Affair”) represented the first true Catholic protest of the 1960s; parallels are drawn with the Berkeley free speech protests, the antiwar protests at Columbia University, and others.Less

The Charles Curran Affair

Mark S. Massa

Published in print: 2010-08-16

After writing the Mayflower Declaration in 1968, Charles Curran set about a scholarly agenda of showing how and why the pope’s condemnation was, from a theological point of view, problematic. This agenda led directly to Curran’s dismissal from the faculty of the Catholic University of America, an action that closed down the university and was front-page news across the United States, being itself widely perceived as the first distinctively Catholic debate over academic freedom in a Catholic institution. The protests that followed this dismissal (“the Curran Affair”) represented the first true Catholic protest of the 1960s; parallels are drawn with the Berkeley free speech protests, the antiwar protests at Columbia University, and others.

This chapter examines freedom of speech and sincerity in relation to institutions and institutional roles, using the university as a prime example. It first challenges the idea that mere declarations ...
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This chapter examines freedom of speech and sincerity in relation to institutions and institutional roles, using the university as a prime example. It first challenges the idea that mere declarations that one is suspending the context of truthfulness are sufficient to justify doing so, and illustrates the defects of this idea through a discussion of the doctrine of puffery in contract law. It then makes the case that an institution's epistemic ends may preclude lies in their service by citing the example of the police. It also explores the concept of academic freedom and misrepresentations in the university, focusing on the issue of lying to research subjects. The chapter argues that universities have distinctive epistemic goals that in turn provide an independent basis for academic freedom, as well as a special source of criticism of the use of misrepresentation as a tool of academic research.Less

Sincerity and Institutional Values

Seana Valentine Shiffrin

Published in print: 2014-12-28

This chapter examines freedom of speech and sincerity in relation to institutions and institutional roles, using the university as a prime example. It first challenges the idea that mere declarations that one is suspending the context of truthfulness are sufficient to justify doing so, and illustrates the defects of this idea through a discussion of the doctrine of puffery in contract law. It then makes the case that an institution's epistemic ends may preclude lies in their service by citing the example of the police. It also explores the concept of academic freedom and misrepresentations in the university, focusing on the issue of lying to research subjects. The chapter argues that universities have distinctive epistemic goals that in turn provide an independent basis for academic freedom, as well as a special source of criticism of the use of misrepresentation as a tool of academic research.

This chapter examines academic freedom as a concept of constitutional law. The Supreme Court has proclaimed that academic freedom is a “special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate ...
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This chapter examines academic freedom as a concept of constitutional law. The Supreme Court has proclaimed that academic freedom is a “special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom.” However, the doctrine of academic freedom is characterized by disarray and incoherence. It is incoherent because courts lack an adequate theory of why the U.S. Constitution should protect academic freedom. This chapter argues that the theory of constitutional protection for academic freedom is fundamentally unsound, that it protects not professors as individuals or universities as institutions, but the disciplinary norms which define the scholarly profession and which universities exist to nourish and reproduce. It explains how academic freedom differs from intellectual freedom and how we might justify a constitutional law of academic freedom. In particular, it proposes a more defensible account of why the Constitution might protect academic freedom.Less

Academic Freedom and the Constitution

Robert Post

Published in print: 2015-02-10

This chapter examines academic freedom as a concept of constitutional law. The Supreme Court has proclaimed that academic freedom is a “special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom.” However, the doctrine of academic freedom is characterized by disarray and incoherence. It is incoherent because courts lack an adequate theory of why the U.S. Constitution should protect academic freedom. This chapter argues that the theory of constitutional protection for academic freedom is fundamentally unsound, that it protects not professors as individuals or universities as institutions, but the disciplinary norms which define the scholarly profession and which universities exist to nourish and reproduce. It explains how academic freedom differs from intellectual freedom and how we might justify a constitutional law of academic freedom. In particular, it proposes a more defensible account of why the Constitution might protect academic freedom.

This chapter examines conflicting values as they affect questions of academic freedom. It begins with an overview of the fundamental elements of academic freedom and how to determine when academic ...
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This chapter examines conflicting values as they affect questions of academic freedom. It begins with an overview of the fundamental elements of academic freedom and how to determine when academic freedom has actually been abused. It then discusses the notion of academic nonneutrality, along with the role of intellectual diversity and academic freedom in contemporary academic life. It argues that the practices of exclusion that are central to academic freedom must be understood as the defining practices of a professional guild. It also describes the conditions under which it is reasonable to invest public trust in the authority of the guild, and offers a detailed account of the legitimate exercise of academic freedom. Finally, it explores one of the social goods that academic freedom underwrites: the opportunity for academic inquiry that enhances capacity to respond constructively to human diversity. The chapter asserts that freedom of speech and academic freedom must be justified on very different grounds and concludes that the benefits of protecting academic freedom far outweigh any potential dangers.Less

What’s so Special about Academic Freedom?

Michele Moody-Adams

Published in print: 2015-02-10

This chapter examines conflicting values as they affect questions of academic freedom. It begins with an overview of the fundamental elements of academic freedom and how to determine when academic freedom has actually been abused. It then discusses the notion of academic nonneutrality, along with the role of intellectual diversity and academic freedom in contemporary academic life. It argues that the practices of exclusion that are central to academic freedom must be understood as the defining practices of a professional guild. It also describes the conditions under which it is reasonable to invest public trust in the authority of the guild, and offers a detailed account of the legitimate exercise of academic freedom. Finally, it explores one of the social goods that academic freedom underwrites: the opportunity for academic inquiry that enhances capacity to respond constructively to human diversity. The chapter asserts that freedom of speech and academic freedom must be justified on very different grounds and concludes that the benefits of protecting academic freedom far outweigh any potential dangers.

This book examines the growth of the University of North Carolina (UNC) during the school's formative years between the World Wars. Academic freedom—its history and its current meaning—is often ...
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This book examines the growth of the University of North Carolina (UNC) during the school's formative years between the World Wars. Academic freedom—its history and its current meaning—is often misunderstood within and without the academy. This book takes an “on the ground” approach to the history of academic freedom. It focuses on how in the early 1900s the newly heralded principle of academic freedom led to UNC's role as an expertly trained advocate for improving labor relations and race relations in the South. UNC's reputation as one of the South's leading institutions of higher education drew some of the nation's top educators to its classrooms and helped it become a regional model of the modern university. This generation of professors defined themselves as truth-seekers whose work had the potential to enact positive social change; while university leaders like Frank Graham defended the professors' freedom to choose and cultivate their own curriculum and research to obtain this goal. Proponents of academic freedom argued that the expertise of the faculty would help lift the state and even the entire South out of poverty and place it on the road to progress. However, its location in the country's most conservative region presented challenges as new ideas of academic freedom and liberalism central to its educational philosophy sparked loud opposition among business leaders, anticommunists, white supremacists, and conservatives generally.Less

The New Southern University : Academic Freedom and Liberalism at UNC

Charles Holden

Published in print: 2012-01-01

This book examines the growth of the University of North Carolina (UNC) during the school's formative years between the World Wars. Academic freedom—its history and its current meaning—is often misunderstood within and without the academy. This book takes an “on the ground” approach to the history of academic freedom. It focuses on how in the early 1900s the newly heralded principle of academic freedom led to UNC's role as an expertly trained advocate for improving labor relations and race relations in the South. UNC's reputation as one of the South's leading institutions of higher education drew some of the nation's top educators to its classrooms and helped it become a regional model of the modern university. This generation of professors defined themselves as truth-seekers whose work had the potential to enact positive social change; while university leaders like Frank Graham defended the professors' freedom to choose and cultivate their own curriculum and research to obtain this goal. Proponents of academic freedom argued that the expertise of the faculty would help lift the state and even the entire South out of poverty and place it on the road to progress. However, its location in the country's most conservative region presented challenges as new ideas of academic freedom and liberalism central to its educational philosophy sparked loud opposition among business leaders, anticommunists, white supremacists, and conservatives generally.

This chapter examines the limits of academic freedom and describes student activism and educational reform at the University of California, Berkeley, in the 1960s. It discusses Center for Participant ...
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This chapter examines the limits of academic freedom and describes student activism and educational reform at the University of California, Berkeley, in the 1960s. It discusses Center for Participant Education (CPE) member Larry Magid's invitation for Eldridge Cleaver to teach a course at the university following African American students' complain about the dearth of classes dealing with their experiences and political struggles. It highlights the controversy surrounding the Board of Educational Development's (BED) approval of the course called “Social Analysis 139X: Dehumanization and Regeneration of the American Social Order”.Less

The Limits of Freedom : Student Activists and Educational Reform at Berkeley in the 1960s

Julie A. Reuben

Published in print: 2002-01-10

This chapter examines the limits of academic freedom and describes student activism and educational reform at the University of California, Berkeley, in the 1960s. It discusses Center for Participant Education (CPE) member Larry Magid's invitation for Eldridge Cleaver to teach a course at the university following African American students' complain about the dearth of classes dealing with their experiences and political struggles. It highlights the controversy surrounding the Board of Educational Development's (BED) approval of the course called “Social Analysis 139X: Dehumanization and Regeneration of the American Social Order”.

This chapter describes experience in the Free Speech Movement (FSM) as member of the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley. It argues that simply looking at the division of the Berkeley ...
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This chapter describes experience in the Free Speech Movement (FSM) as member of the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley. It argues that simply looking at the division of the Berkeley faculty into two polarized factions can do justice to the historical reality of the fall of 1964 and the author of this chapter relates his story as member of the pro-FSM Committee of 200. The chapter suggests that the larger story of faculty involvement in free speech and academic freedom issues at Berkeley dates back at least to the bitter loyalty oath controversy of 1949–1950.Less

On the Side of the Angels : The Berkeley Faculty and the FSM

Reginald E. Zelnik

Published in print: 2002-01-10

This chapter describes experience in the Free Speech Movement (FSM) as member of the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley. It argues that simply looking at the division of the Berkeley faculty into two polarized factions can do justice to the historical reality of the fall of 1964 and the author of this chapter relates his story as member of the pro-FSM Committee of 200. The chapter suggests that the larger story of faculty involvement in free speech and academic freedom issues at Berkeley dates back at least to the bitter loyalty oath controversy of 1949–1950.

During 1944, an anti-New Deal group of wealthy men known as the Texas Regulars attempted to seize control of the Texas Democratic Party in order to deny President Roosevelt Texas's electoral college ...
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During 1944, an anti-New Deal group of wealthy men known as the Texas Regulars attempted to seize control of the Texas Democratic Party in order to deny President Roosevelt Texas's electoral college votes. Cunningham was one of the leaders of the Texas New Dealers who resisted the Regulars. She ran for governor in 1944 in an attempt to expose Governor Coke Stevenson's ties to the Regulars, and helped establish the Texas Social and Legislative Conference to unite New Deal farmers and unions against the Regulars. When the Regulars attempted to take over the University of Texas, Cunningham organized the Women's Committee for Educational Freedom to defend academic freedom at the university, and to attempt to elect Homer Rainey, an opponent of the Regulars, as governor in 1946.Less

At War With The Texas Regulars, 1944–1946

Judith N. McArthurHarold L. Smith

Published in print: 2005-10-27

During 1944, an anti-New Deal group of wealthy men known as the Texas Regulars attempted to seize control of the Texas Democratic Party in order to deny President Roosevelt Texas's electoral college votes. Cunningham was one of the leaders of the Texas New Dealers who resisted the Regulars. She ran for governor in 1944 in an attempt to expose Governor Coke Stevenson's ties to the Regulars, and helped establish the Texas Social and Legislative Conference to unite New Deal farmers and unions against the Regulars. When the Regulars attempted to take over the University of Texas, Cunningham organized the Women's Committee for Educational Freedom to defend academic freedom at the university, and to attempt to elect Homer Rainey, an opponent of the Regulars, as governor in 1946.

This chapter examines academic freedom at the University of Chicago, which proudly thinks of itself as a Socratic, free-thinking, and contentious institution. More specifically, it considers the ...
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This chapter examines academic freedom at the University of Chicago, which proudly thinks of itself as a Socratic, free-thinking, and contentious institution. More specifically, it considers the antiquarian view of academic freedom associated with two constitutional conservatives, both of them famous for their advocacy of judicial restraint: Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and his former law clerk Alexander Bickel. The chapter explores the ancient Socratic ideal of freedom of thought and the application of the methods of critical reason as the ultimate ends of academic life. It also discusses the University of Chicago's conception of academic freedom as articulated in the Kalven committee report and whether faculty and administrative governance is a threat to academic freedom. It suggests that what makes a great university great is its commitment and willingness to nurture and protect the ardor and fearlessness of autonomous minds to follow the argument where it leads regardless of moral, political, or commercial interests or popular opinion.Less

To Follow the Argument where it Leads : An Antiquarian View of the Aim of Academic Freedom at the University of Chicago

Richard A. Shweder

Published in print: 2015-02-10

This chapter examines academic freedom at the University of Chicago, which proudly thinks of itself as a Socratic, free-thinking, and contentious institution. More specifically, it considers the antiquarian view of academic freedom associated with two constitutional conservatives, both of them famous for their advocacy of judicial restraint: Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and his former law clerk Alexander Bickel. The chapter explores the ancient Socratic ideal of freedom of thought and the application of the methods of critical reason as the ultimate ends of academic life. It also discusses the University of Chicago's conception of academic freedom as articulated in the Kalven committee report and whether faculty and administrative governance is a threat to academic freedom. It suggests that what makes a great university great is its commitment and willingness to nurture and protect the ardor and fearlessness of autonomous minds to follow the argument where it leads regardless of moral, political, or commercial interests or popular opinion.

This chapter examines how academic freedom is to be viewed from the vantage point of the relative roles that faculty members and academic administrators ought to play in the governance structure of ...
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This chapter examines how academic freedom is to be viewed from the vantage point of the relative roles that faculty members and academic administrators ought to play in the governance structure of universities that are seeking to transform themselves. It first provides an overview of the core principles of academic freedom in the United States and proceeds by describing academic freedom at the City University of New York. It then considers academic freedom in relation to free speech, the rights of students, and university governance. It also looks at the uses and abuses of academic freedom and asks what the relative roles of faculty members and administrators should be in initiating and carrying out change in universities. The chapter concludes by discussing whether administrative initiative, with faculty consultation, violates principles of academic freedom and the roles that have been carved out over the decades for the two groups.Less

Academic Freedom : Some Considerations

Matthew GoldsteinFrederick Schaffer

Published in print: 2015-02-10

This chapter examines how academic freedom is to be viewed from the vantage point of the relative roles that faculty members and academic administrators ought to play in the governance structure of universities that are seeking to transform themselves. It first provides an overview of the core principles of academic freedom in the United States and proceeds by describing academic freedom at the City University of New York. It then considers academic freedom in relation to free speech, the rights of students, and university governance. It also looks at the uses and abuses of academic freedom and asks what the relative roles of faculty members and administrators should be in initiating and carrying out change in universities. The chapter concludes by discussing whether administrative initiative, with faculty consultation, violates principles of academic freedom and the roles that have been carved out over the decades for the two groups.

This chapter examines the relationship between academic freedom and the academic boycott politics surrounding Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. It begins with a discussion of the five schools ...
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This chapter examines the relationship between academic freedom and the academic boycott politics surrounding Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. It begins with a discussion of the five schools of academic freedom: the “it's just a job” school, the “for the common good” school, the “for uncommon beings” or “academic exceptionalism” school, the “academic freedom as critique” school, and the “academic freedom as training for revolution” school. It then considers the case of the poster boy for the fifth school, Denis Rancourt, a physics professor at the University of Ottawa who was dismissed from his position for practicing what he calls “academic squatting.” It also discusses the arguments surrounding the boycott of Israeli universities and what each of the five schools mentioned above would say about the boycott. The chapter argues that the academy is a relatively narrow and isolated enterprise whose pursuits must not be contaminated by larger political struggles.Less

Academic Freedom and the Boycott of Israeli Universities

Stanley Fish

Published in print: 2015-02-10

This chapter examines the relationship between academic freedom and the academic boycott politics surrounding Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. It begins with a discussion of the five schools of academic freedom: the “it's just a job” school, the “for the common good” school, the “for uncommon beings” or “academic exceptionalism” school, the “academic freedom as critique” school, and the “academic freedom as training for revolution” school. It then considers the case of the poster boy for the fifth school, Denis Rancourt, a physics professor at the University of Ottawa who was dismissed from his position for practicing what he calls “academic squatting.” It also discusses the arguments surrounding the boycott of Israeli universities and what each of the five schools mentioned above would say about the boycott. The chapter argues that the academy is a relatively narrow and isolated enterprise whose pursuits must not be contaminated by larger political struggles.

This chapter explores academic freedom in relation to the academic boycott politics surrounding the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. A paradox arises insofar as the dominant debates suggest ...
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This chapter explores academic freedom in relation to the academic boycott politics surrounding the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. A paradox arises insofar as the dominant debates suggest that it is the boycott that poses a threat to academic freedom. In fact, the unjust conditions that the boycott opposes prove to abrogate academic freedom more fully than the boycott itself. The isolation, underfunding, and episodic closing of Palestine's universities, the detention of students and faculty who espouse—or who are perceived to espouse—political views inimical to the Israeli regime undermines the right to education that is not only a precondition of academic freedom but part of its very definition. The chapter argues that the academic boycott is, at least in part, a way of objecting to abridgements of academic freedom, a way of calling for an equal right to education, and a way of opposing a systematic and militarily enforced inequality and subjugation.Less

Exercising Rights : Academic Freedom and Boycott Politics

Judith Butler

Published in print: 2015-02-10

This chapter explores academic freedom in relation to the academic boycott politics surrounding the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. A paradox arises insofar as the dominant debates suggest that it is the boycott that poses a threat to academic freedom. In fact, the unjust conditions that the boycott opposes prove to abrogate academic freedom more fully than the boycott itself. The isolation, underfunding, and episodic closing of Palestine's universities, the detention of students and faculty who espouse—or who are perceived to espouse—political views inimical to the Israeli regime undermines the right to education that is not only a precondition of academic freedom but part of its very definition. The chapter argues that the academic boycott is, at least in part, a way of objecting to abridgements of academic freedom, a way of calling for an equal right to education, and a way of opposing a systematic and militarily enforced inequality and subjugation.

This chapter explores how in the 1920s the state's textile mill ownership had begun taking a dim view of the UNC's scholarly projects, especially those coming from the new Institute of Research in ...
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This chapter explores how in the 1920s the state's textile mill ownership had begun taking a dim view of the UNC's scholarly projects, especially those coming from the new Institute of Research in Social Science (IRSS). Identifying the deplorable working and living conditions of textile workers as a problem, university researchers hoped to find solutions. Spokesmen for the state's textile leadership disputed the university's freedom to conduct research into their industry. To them, the university's modern mission of service through expertise was nothing more than an invitation for radicalism to infiltrate the South. Despite the resistance of the state's business elite, by the end of the 1920s university leaders had successfully established academic freedom as a core value of the institution and, in all, generated broad support for the UNC's pursuit of its modern mission.Less

“Go Ahead and Do Harm”: : The Academic Study of Labor Relations

Charles J. Holden

Published in print: 2012-01-01

This chapter explores how in the 1920s the state's textile mill ownership had begun taking a dim view of the UNC's scholarly projects, especially those coming from the new Institute of Research in Social Science (IRSS). Identifying the deplorable working and living conditions of textile workers as a problem, university researchers hoped to find solutions. Spokesmen for the state's textile leadership disputed the university's freedom to conduct research into their industry. To them, the university's modern mission of service through expertise was nothing more than an invitation for radicalism to infiltrate the South. Despite the resistance of the state's business elite, by the end of the 1920s university leaders had successfully established academic freedom as a core value of the institution and, in all, generated broad support for the UNC's pursuit of its modern mission.

This introductory chapter briefly examines the history of academic freedom in the United States. It highlights how the concept took cultural changes—from developments in science and philosophy, to ...
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This introductory chapter briefly examines the history of academic freedom in the United States. It highlights how the concept took cultural changes—from developments in science and philosophy, to increased exposure to national differences, to wider commercial contacts—to pave the way for the modern university and its essential freedoms. Academic freedom embodies Enlightenment commitments to the pursuit of knowledge and their adaptation to different social and political realities. The notion and practice started in Germany in the early 19th century through the akademische Freiheit. Transplanting the notion to the United States however encountered difficulties as American universities dismissed employees whenever conflicts arose. The chapter describes the response of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to arbitrary dismissals and the threat they posed to the faculty's capacity to teach and pursue research in an unhindered fashion and to serve the broader needs of society.Less

Introduction : What Is Academic Freedom?

Cary Nelson

Published in print: 2010-02-03

This introductory chapter briefly examines the history of academic freedom in the United States. It highlights how the concept took cultural changes—from developments in science and philosophy, to increased exposure to national differences, to wider commercial contacts—to pave the way for the modern university and its essential freedoms. Academic freedom embodies Enlightenment commitments to the pursuit of knowledge and their adaptation to different social and political realities. The notion and practice started in Germany in the early 19th century through the akademische Freiheit. Transplanting the notion to the United States however encountered difficulties as American universities dismissed employees whenever conflicts arose. The chapter describes the response of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to arbitrary dismissals and the threat they posed to the faculty's capacity to teach and pursue research in an unhindered fashion and to serve the broader needs of society.

This chapter offers a brief introduction to Frank Porter Graham's presidency at the UNC. Enormously popular and relentlessly positive, Graham remains a university legend. A native North Carolinian, ...
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This chapter offers a brief introduction to Frank Porter Graham's presidency at the UNC. Enormously popular and relentlessly positive, Graham remains a university legend. A native North Carolinian, his 1931 inaugural address reasserted the university's aspirations to be a beacon of academic freedom for the state and the south. The address also revealed Graham's insights into the challenges facing the university as well as academic freedom itself. In addition to acknowledging the worsening conditions of the Great Depression, Graham saw a world still troubled by violence and prejudice. The world, as he saw it, needed the fruits of academic freedom more than ever. A well-known liberal, his presidency also signaled a new day for southern progressives. Graham's liberalism and his tireless defense of academic freedom enabled critics to not bother with the distinctions between the two.Less

Charles J. Holden

Published in print: 2012-01-01

This chapter offers a brief introduction to Frank Porter Graham's presidency at the UNC. Enormously popular and relentlessly positive, Graham remains a university legend. A native North Carolinian, his 1931 inaugural address reasserted the university's aspirations to be a beacon of academic freedom for the state and the south. The address also revealed Graham's insights into the challenges facing the university as well as academic freedom itself. In addition to acknowledging the worsening conditions of the Great Depression, Graham saw a world still troubled by violence and prejudice. The world, as he saw it, needed the fruits of academic freedom more than ever. A well-known liberal, his presidency also signaled a new day for southern progressives. Graham's liberalism and his tireless defense of academic freedom enabled critics to not bother with the distinctions between the two.